Once Fallen
by AngrySnapDragon
Summary: When Hans finds himself at death's door after a mission gone wrong, he is surprised when he wakes up in the care of his old friend Adlet. So, when Hans receives a contract to kill him... well, the only way to get close enough would be to make him fall in love with him. But what happens when Hans finds himself ensnared in the act?


**_This is my first fanfic for this particular fandom but it is one of my all time favorite anime and this little gem was hiding away on my computer so I simply had to share._**

 ** _Let me know what you think!_**

 _It's cold…_ his limbs were weighted with fatigue, his legs shaking as he trudged forward. _Have to get away. Have to… keep… moving…_ One of his daggers slid from numbed fingers, the second following a few steps later as he stumbled and finally fell. _Heh… death finally caught up to me nya?_ The thought forced a pained chuckle past his throat.

A thud of footsteps, the snap of a twig. Someone was coming. He couldn't lift his head, though his eyes slid open, his unfocused gaze falling upon a pair of booted feet. Not a solder. Whoever it was knelt next to him and he felt warm fingers press against the pulse in his neck. They were saying something but he was so tired. Too tired…

The smell of food woke his stomach first. The weak grumbling forcing the rest of him to wake up as well. _Mmm smells delicious… when was the last time I ate…? Before this last contract-_

Hans jolted upright, eyes flying open, hissing in pain as the wound in his side pulled.

"Lay down before you hurt yourself." A hand pushed against his shoulder and he acted without thinking. He grabbed the limb, twisting and ignored his pain as he pinned the man down on the bed. Then he saw the flame-red hair, still as long as ever and registered the strength in the thin limbs that he held down.

"Ad..let..?" he winced in pain, relinquishing his grip and falling to the side. _Dammit…_

"I see you haven't changed much." Adlet smiled at him, shaking out the wrist he'd grabbed.

"Where am I?"

"My secret hideout." The idiot had the audacity to wink at him as he went over to the pot that sat on the stove.

Hans glared at him, looking around as best he could without moving. The smell of crisp mountain air wafted from the open doorway, floor, walls, ceiling all were made or carved from stone… He had run towards the mountains hoping to dissuade the mounted soldiers from chasing him up the cliffs. If he remembered correctly, Adlet had trained with Striker in the mountains… presumably, he was staying in his master's old home.

Hans sighed, "Where are my weapons?"

"Shouldn't you ask about your clothes first?"

He glared at him again, not that the man could see with his back turned. Grumbling, he gingerly crawled over to the edge of the small bed leaning over to glance around the floor. His clothes were folded neatly beside the bed, his daggers laid atop the pile.

"Don't try reaching for them, you'll pull your wound open again."

Hans glanced over at Adlet, finding his back still turned. He was probably watching him with a mirror or something. He huffed in irritation, laying down on his stomach as he was across the bed.

"I'm bored. What have you been doing here these past three years?"

Adlet stiffened, upset at the reminder of the events that happened three years ago when they had defeated the Demon Lord. The 'Strongest Man in the World' hadn't been able to protect the girl he'd fallen in love with. Needless to say, he'd taken it hard. Flamey had sacrificed herself to finish the Demon and in order to do so… Hans had knocked out the red-head and dragged him away. So by the time Adlet woke up… she was already gone.

"Continuing my Master's work."

"Nya? The 'Strongest Man in the World' is sitting around doing research? I'm surprised."

"Heh. Well, I'm not exactly the 'Strongest Man in the World' now, am I? There's little an average man like me can do."

Hans found himself speechless. Adlet hadn't spoken much on their way back and Hans had left before the celebrations had started. An assassin didn't last long when so many knew his face after all. He hadn't realized that the man in front of him had broken so easily. It was infuriating.

He slowly reached for a dagger and sat up, ignoring the twinge of pain that the movement caused him. "Really? Here that's all we ever heard out of you."

"I was proven wrong."

Rage engulfed him for a moment and Hans threw the dagger in his hand, unsurprised when Adlet dodged. "Bullshit! I considered you an equal-" he gasped and clutched at his side.

"I told you not to move…" Adlet sighed coming over to force him to lay. He obeyed, mostly because it hurt to breathe while the man slowly peeled the bandage off. He glanced down at it and paled. He hadn't realized it was that bad… honestly he hadn't realized he had so many injuries at all. His side, though, was by far the worst. An arrow had clipped him in the arm and sent him a bit too close to a sword. He was lucky that they'd only caught his side. His leg had taken damage as well, which led to a multitude of close calls and scratches.

He watched as all of the bandages were changed, the dark green herb clinging to his skin. He frowned seeing most of them come up red and in one disturbing case; covered in puss.

"How long have I been here?" His wounds were no longer fresh and some had gained infections.

"Three days. I didn't have the right herbs to dress your wounds but I couldn't leave you alone with the fever you had. So some of them got infected before I could go out to get the supplies I needed. Another day or two you should be fine to move around. A week more and you'll be back to your old self."

"Three days?" strange he didn't feel as weak as he should… "That's not possible…. Nya?" he looked up at Adlet's raised eyebrow then around the room, taking in the things that he'd discarded before. The washbasin and dirty cloths, the pile of herbs beside a mortar and pestle, the extra blankets that had been piled over him, and the smell of clean sheets and the small pile of dirty laundry in the basket by the door.

"It would be pointless for me to bring you here and treat your wounds just to let you starve to death in the time it took you to wake up."

"Nya?! You fed me too?" _ugh…_ he didn't even want to contemplate how he'd done that… he winced as his wounds were cleaned and redressed. "Ouch…"

"I've seen you take worse than this, don't complain."

"You're just ruthless." Hans grumbled. Adlet grinned at him and went back to the stove, spooning a portion of whatever that delectable smelling food was into a bowl. Yet it was held out of reach.

"Nyaaa? Not fair…" he whined.

"Try not to choke?" Adlet smiled and handed him the bowl.

Needless to say whatever it was was finished before he had a chance to taste it. He held up the bowl in a gesture for more. Adlet just shook his head and gave him another serving.

"What is this?" Hans asked through a mouthful of the thick broth.

"A stew. There are beef chunks and carrots in there too."

"So what? You learned how to cook too, while you've been hermiting yourself away?"

"No… my sister taught me when I was little. Believe it or not, I wasn't always interested in fighting fiends."

"Nyaa, you did say something about that…" Hans scratched at the top of his head. "It's been a while, can't blame me for forgetting." He shrugged. "Ehh, and now that I have some solid food in my stomach… can I have my clothes? I can't say I'm all that fond of being checked out by another guy." He grinned at him.

Adlet sighed. "Try not to pull your side open again. Now that your awake I'm hoping I won't have to wash my sheets as often." He handed him the small pile of clothes but kept the weapons.

Hans pulled on the clothing, "Nya? Think I'm going to try to kill you again? I'm afraid you've proved me too weak to move."

"Yeah, so you should sleep. I'll wake you up for the next meal."

Hans leveled a wary look at the man. He was not in the habit of sleeping around others. He held a respect for Adlet and yes, he had once considered him a trusted comrade. However. The man had obviously changed these past few years. He was quiet, more reserved. Useless. To think, he'd once considered the man an equal to him in combat… His eyes felt heavy… his head drooped forward for a moment before he jerked himself awake.

 _What the…?_ He blinked hard, forcing his eyes open as he swayed, barely able to keep himself upright. Adlet was watching him with this tiny apologetic smile. "You… bastard…" he fell back against the pillows, unable to keep himself awake any longer.


End file.
